Clasp.



A. T. VAN ALSTYN.

' CLASP. AYPLIOATION 11.21) JULY a, 1908.

973, 1%?, Patented 0011. 18,1910.

rm; :vc/mls FEYERS ca, WASHINGTON, n, c.

ALBERT T. VAN ALSTYN, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

CLASP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1910.

Application filed July 8, 1908. Serial No. 442,595.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. VAN ALs'rYN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Stamford, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut,have invented a new and useful Clasp, (Case A,) of which the followingis a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a garment clasp ada ted forgeneral use as upon stocking and rawers supporters, the special objectsbeing to provide a clasp which shall have a large opening to receive afold of garment, shall have an elongated holding block so as to retain afine stocking or other garment firmly without danger of tearing it,shall be-easily assembled and which will lie flat in use and be withoutprojections that can hurt or bruise the wearer.

lVith these and other objects in view I have devised the simple andnovel clasp which I will now describe, referring to the accompanyingdrawing forming a part of this specification and using reference characters to indicate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a plan View, illustrating my novel clasp with the parts inthe holding position; Fig. 2 a longitudinal section on the line 22 inFig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 a similar View,the lever being raised and partly swung forward and the membersseparated; Fig. 4 a section on the line 44 in Fig. 3, looking in thedirection of the arrows; Figs. 5, 9 and 10 are perspectives illustratingvariant forms of the lower member detached; Fig. 6 a detail perspectiveillustrating the connection of the members; Fig. 7 an elevation of thelever detached as seen from the left in Fig. 3; and Fig. 8 is a detailview partly in elevation and partly in section, illustrating theconnection of the lever to the slide.

14 denotes the body of the upper member which is blanked out and formedfrom sheet metal. The body comprises inwardly facing ways 15 formed bybending the edge of the plate downward and inward, a cross piece 16 atthe front end and an integral spring 17 formed by slotting the plate infront of the ways as at 18. Between the forward end of the spring andthe cross piece is an opening 19. The cross piece is shown as madedouble thickness by utilizing a portion of the metal from the opening.

21 denotes a housing formed by pressing out the metal of the spring andprovided at its rear end with an opening 22 which is made less than thewidth of the housing.

23 denotes a slide which is adapted to reciprocate in the ways and isprovided with a transverse socket 24 and at the mid-length of saidsocket with upwardly-curved lugs The forward end of the slide is shownas folded over making it double thickness, as at 20, to cooperate withthe double thick end wall of the opening, 2'. 6. cross piece 16, inholding a garment, as will be more fully explained.

26 denotes a lever the lower end of which is shown as rolled over uponitself as at 27 to provide a cross bar of additional strength. The lowerend of the lever, 11. c. the cross bar, engages the socket.

28 denotes an opening in the lever above the cross bar through whichlugs 25 are passed, these lugs being closed down upon the cross bar toconnect the lever to the slide. Upon the opposite sides of the lever andat the proper height are shoulders 29 which engage the under side of thehousing. The free end of the lever is provided with a suitable fingerpiece 30 for convenience in manipulation.

1n assembling, the slide is placed in the ways, which are closed downupon it tightly enough to retain it in place but permitting it to slidefreely. The free end of the lever is passed backward through the opening in the housing, the shoulders engaging the underside of the housing,the end of the lever is placed in engagement with the socket in theslide and the lugs are closed down upon the cross bar at the lower endof. the lever to connect the latter to the slide. The parts are thenself-retaining in place through the resiliency of the spring. The costand disadvantages of riveting are thus avoided and the cost ofassembling is reduced to the minimum.

The lower member comprises a strip 31 and an elongated holding block 32carried thereby and preferably provided with grooves 33 on oppositesides thereof leaving a neck 34 between them. In Figs. 2 and 3 I haveshown the strip and holding block as formed from rubber and molded in asingle piece. In Fig. 5 the strip 31 and an engaging block 32 of rubberis riveted thereto, said block being provided with grooves 33 and neck34. In Fig. 9 the strip 31 and engaging block 32 are both of metal, theblock being provided with the groove 33 and neck 34. In Fig. 10 thestrip 31 is of metal and the engaging block 32 is formed by bending thestrip to form the grooves 33 and neck 34*, the ends of the block beingopen.

The upper and lower members may be secured together in any ordinary orpreferred manner. In the present instance I have shown the rear end ofmember 12 as curved downward and over the rear end of member 13. herethe strip of the lower member is formed from rubber, lugs 35 are struckout from the metal of the upper member and driven into the lower memberto lock the members together. here the strip of the lower member is madefrom metal, lugs 35 are passed through slots 36 in the lower member andmay either be clenched on the under side leaving the member to act as aspring member or a hinge connection may be formed by the lugs and theslots as preferred.

In use, swinging of the lever from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2over to the position shown in Fig. 3 reciprocates the slide through theengagement therewith of the cross bar. lVhen the parts are in the fullyopen position, as shown in Fig. 3, a fold of the stocking or othergarment to be supported is placed over the holding block and then theblock with the fold thereon is passed upward through opening 19 in thebody of the upper member. The operator then swings the lever backward tothe position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the effect of which is to grip theblock with the fold of garment thereon between the cross bar at theforward end of the slide and the cross piece at the end of the bodywhich forms the end wall of the opening. Both cross bar and cross piecemay be made double thickness of metal, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and3. The double thick portion 20 of the slide has two functions. Inaddition to providing a smooth rounded edge for con tact with garments,the rear end thereof serves as a stop for engagement by the forward endof the spring to prevent pressure of the garment, in use, from pushingthe slide back and thus releasing the grip. The holding block ispreferably so placed upon the strip that when the slide is moved to theholding position, the forward end of the slide will force the blockforward and the neck of the block with the fold of gar.- ment thereonwill be gripped between the end of the slide and the end wall of theopening in the body. As the elongated block gives a long hold upon thestocking or other garment, all danger of tearing even the fineststockings is avoided and the holding block may be made of metal orrubber, as preferred.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. A clasp comprising a member provided with an opening, a second memberhaving a block to enter said opening, a slide constructed to engage saidblock and provided with a socket, a spring plate normally locking saidslide against movement, said plate being provided with a housing havingan opening therein, and a lever passing through the last mentionedopening and engaging the socket in said slide, whereby said lever willoperate said spring plate and said slide successively.

2. A clasp member comprising a body having ways, an opening and aspring, said spring having a housing provided with an opening, a slidemoving in the ways and normally locked by said spring, and a leverpassing through the opening in the housing and engaging bot-h thehousing and the slide, whereby oscillation of the lever successivelymoves said spring and reciprocates said slide.

3. A clasp member comprising a body having ways, an opening and aspring, said spring having a housing provided with an opening, a slidemoving in the ways and normally locked by said spring, said slide havinga transverse socket and lugs, and a lever passing through the opening inthe housing and having shoulders engaging the latter, the inner end ofthe lever having a cross bar engaging the socket in the slide and abovethe cross bar engaging an opening to receive the lugs which retain thelever in engagement with the slide, whereby said lever will successivelymove saic spring and operate said slide.

4. A clasp member comprising a body having ways, a double thick crosspiece at the forward end, a spring formed integral with the body and anopening between the cross piece and the spring, a slide moving in theways and made double thick at the forward end forming a stop engaged bythe spring, and a lever engaging the spring and the slide, to operatethem successively.

5. A clasp consisting of a member comprising a body having ways, anopening, and a spring, a slide moving in the ways, and normally lockedby said spring, a lever engaging both the spring and the slide tooperate them successively, and a member having a transverse holdingblock adapted to enter the opening.

In testimony whereof I dffiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.ALBERT T. VAN ALSTYN. Vitnesses GEORGE B. Cross, \VM. F. TVATERBURY.

